Girl in the Tangerine Scarf by Mojha Kahf

From the Publisher

Syrian immigrant Khadra Shamy is growing up in a devout, tightly knit Muslim family in 1970s Indiana, at the crossroads of bad polyester and Islamic dress codes. Along with her brother Eyad and her African-American friends, Hakim and Hanifa, she bikes the Indianapolis streets exploring the fault-lines between Muslim and American.

When her picture-perfect marriage goes sour, Khadra flees to Syria and learns how to pray again. On returning to America she works in an eastern state taking care to stay away from Indiana, where the murder of her friend Tayiba’s sister by Klan violence years before still haunts her. But when her job sends her to cover a national Islamic conference in Indianapolis, she’s back on familiar ground finding herself attending a concert by her brother’s interfaith band The Clash of Civilizations, dodging questions from the aunties and uncles, and running into the recently divorced Hakim everywhere.

Beautifully written and featuring an exuberant cast of characters, The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf charts the spiritual and social landscape of Muslims in middle America, from five daily prayers to the Indy 500 car race. It is a riveting debut from an important new voice.

Publishers Weekly

In comp lit professor Kahf's fiction debut, Khadra Shamy recalls growing up in an immigrant Syrian family in 1970s Indianapolis. Khadra's devout parents raise Khadra and her older brother, Eyad, to be observant of Islamic customs. The inevitable culture clashes ensue, from taunts of "raghead" and "go back where you came from" to the varying interpretations of Islamic code among the community's other Muslims. The mutability of ordinary cultural crossroads-along with the shock of violent ones, such as the rape and murder of one of Khadra's friends-force Khadra to continually question what it means to be "Muslim" or "American." After a short and disastrous marriage to an overbearing husband (he forbids her to ride a bike; she has an abortion), Khadra travels to Syria-now mired in political and religious strife-and returns to the United States in the late '80s to continue searching for her own way in the world. Khadra is a compelling protagonist, and the supporting cast is varied and believable, but Kahf's authorial incursions-critiques of religion and society-are heavy-handed. However, Khadra's ever-evolving view of herself and her religion resonate and provide a valuable portrayal of an oft-misunderstood faith. (Oct. 10) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

What People Are Saying

Molly Giles
Mohja Kahf is a clear-eyed, nervy, and passionate writer. This is a bright, vivid, and important book.
—(Molly Giles, author of Rough Translations, and Creek Walk)

Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore
A refreshingly human look at growing up Muslim in America. Kahf is a serious seeker and wrestler of emotions and ideas in clean American prose that shows brilliance.
—(Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore, author of The Ramadan Sonnets and Dawn Vision)

Dr. A Yemisi Jimoh
Mohja Kahf's depiction of this community of Muslim's in the heartland of the United States compels her readers to see this country through new eyes. A sensitive, passionate and occasionally lyrical book.
3(Dr. A Yemisi Jimoh, author of Spiritual Blues and Jazz People in African American Fiction: Living in Paradox)

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